Three-piece clamp assembly for the braces of scaffolding

ABSTRACT

A three-piece, inseparable, post-attached clamp assembly including a wedge piece by means of which the contiguous ends of the diagonal and/or horizontal braces of conventional scaffolding may be clamped firmly but releasably against the post to which the assembly is applied.

United States Patent [1 1 Schimmel et a1.

[ THREE-PIECE CLAMP ASSEMBLY FOR THE BRACES OF SCAFFOLDING [75] inventors: Vernon R. Schimmel, Arlington Heights; James C. Shoemaker, Hampshire, both of 111.

[73] Assignee: Symons Corporation, Des Plaines,

22 Filed: June 23, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 265,542

[ Aug. 7, 1973 2,814,535 11/1957 Jagiel 287/535 2,891,820 6/1959 Schoeneberg 287/535 2,841,452 7/1958 Borgman et a1. 287/535 Primary Examiner-Andrew V. Kundrat Att0meyNorman H. Gerlach [57] ABSTRACT A three-piece, inseparable, post-attached clamp assembly including a wedge piece by means of which the contiguous ends of the diagonal and/or horizontal braces of conventional scaffolding may be clamped firmly but releasably against the post to which the assembly is applied.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures The improved clamp assembly comprising the present invention is designed primarily for use in connection with internal scaffolding of the type which comprises spaced apart posts and diagonal and horizontal reinforcing braces between the posts and is employed for supporting a superstructure which is associated with concrete slab forms, such superstructure comprising the stringers which are used to support a form deck in the production of concrete floor slabs of a building construction. The invention is, however, capable of other uses and a clamp assembly embodying the principles of the present invention may, if desired and with or without modification, be employed in connection with external scaffolding which is used in connection with large scale sand-blasting, painting or tuckpointing operations, or building maintenance and repair. In short, the present invention will be found useful in many situations where there is required an effective and easily applied and operated clamp assembly for securing in place one end of a single brace or the contigu ous ends of a plurality of braces.

In the erection of buildings involving relatively massive and expansive concrete floor slabs, the concrete floor form panels over which the wet concrete is poured and which serve temporarily to support the hardened concrete slabs, are supported at their ends upon longitudinally extending stringers and these, in turn, are supported upon suitable scaffold-like shoring. In many instances, the shoring employed is in the form of a plurality of spaced apart, vertically extending steel posts and these, during their initial installation at least, must be maintained in reasonably accurate vertical position in order to facilitate application thereto of the stringers and the associated concrete form panels. An example of such scaffold-like shoring is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,470, granted on Apr. 28, 1964 and entitled CONCRETE WALL FORM IN- STALLATION. It has invariably been the practice to maintain such accurate vertical positioning of the steel posts by the use of diagonal struts or braces between adjacent posts, certain ends of the braces being secured to the posts at a high elevation and the other ends of the braces being secured to the posts at a low elevation. For thus cross-bracing large area scaffold-like shoring, it has been considered expedient to provide an individual anchor point for each end of each diagonal brace since the provision of asuccessful dual-point anchor device or bracket for the adjacent ends of twocross braces has heretofore not been found to be practical, both from the standpoint of cost and of facility of installation and use. A simple split collar-like clamping band wherein opposed attachment ears are drawn together by a nut and bolt assembly affords a convenient anchor device for one end of a diagonal brace, but, obviously, such an arrangement is not equippedfor securing the contiguous ends of two or more diagonal braces on a post, and four of the aforementioned clamping bands, one for each endof the two braces, have hereto-' fore been employed for brace-securing purposes. Other bracket-like clamping devices are currently in use for holding the ends of diagonal braces in position on a post, but such devices consist of free hardware items which are assembled on the post at the scene of a given installation and which, therefore, are susceptible to being lost or misplaced as well as requiring the use of special tools for manipulating purposes. Furthermore, such devices frequently require the services of two workmen at the time the installation is made, one operator holding the post and the brace or braces in their approximate final positions of placement, and the other operator effecting the assembly of parts.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of present-day brace-securing clamp assemblies and, toward this end, there is contentplated the provision of such a clamp assembly which is comprised of only three principal parts, all of which are captured items, which is to say that they are permanently attached to the associated post to which it is desired that a particular arrangement of a single brace or a plurality of braces be applied. Briefly, two of the three parts or components are fixedly and permanently mounted on the associated post while the third part or component is in the form of a simple, one-piece, metal stamping which is movably mounted on one of the other components. This movable component functions as a wedge clamp or piece and it is designed for coopertion with both fixed components in such a manner as to bind the end of one or the ends of several diagonal or horizontal braces securely to the associated post. the wedge piece is provided thereon with an impact flange which is designed for cooperation with an impact tool such as a hammer, either to drive it to a home positon for brace-clamping purposesor to loosenit for bracereleasing purposes. By such an arrangement, all of the three component parts, both fixed and movable, may be assembled on the post at the factory so that the workman in the field need not concern himself with the transportation of loose parts or with their handling preparatory to moving the various braces into position with respect to the posts to which they are to be applied.

The provision of a post-attached, three-piece, clamp assembly of the character briefly outlined above, and possessing the stated advantages, constitutes the principal object of the. invention. Other objects and advantages, not at this time enumerated, will become readily apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The provision of a clamp assembly which is extremely simple in its construction; one which is comprised of a minimum number of parts and, therefore, maybe manufactured at a low cost; one in which only one movable part is involved at the time of either installationor dismantlement of the associated braces so that there is little danger of the assembly getting out of order; one which is rugged and durable and, therefore, will withstand rough usage, and one which otherwise is well-adapted to perform the services required of it are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. I is a fragmentary perspective view of a series of spaced apart posts which together with certain horizonal and diagonal braces forms a scaffold, each post being illustrated as having operatively applied thereto upper and lower clamp assemblies embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view taken in the vicinity of one of the clamp assemblies of the scaffold of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but taken in the vicinity of a different clamp assembly in the scaffold of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is disclosed in FIG. 1 a typical installation of scaffolding embodying four vertically extending, laterally spaced posts which are arranged in quadrilateral relation and are adapted to support at their upper ends any desired superstructure such, for example, as a series of longitudinal and transverse stringers which, in turn, serve to support thereon a plurality of horizontal panel units, the latter being arranged in contiguity so that the upper panel facings thereof define a continuous unbroken slab-supporting surface upon which the wet concrete of a floor slab r the like is adapted to be poured. The stringers and other parts of the aforementioned superstructure which are supported on the upper ends of the posts 10 are not disclosed herein since they constitute no part of the present invention, the latter being concerned primarily with the cross-bracing which is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 12 and will now be fully described in detail and subse-' quently claimed.

The cross-bracing 12 involves in its general organization a multiplicity of similarly formed clamp assemblies 14 and pluralities of cooperating tubular braces 16. The opposite ends of each brace 16 are flattened as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and asindicated by the reference numeral 17, the various flattened end regions being provided therein with attachment holes 18. Each clamp assembly 14 constitutes an operative connection by means of which the adjacent end of one brace or the adjacent and contiguous ends ofa plurality of braces 16 may be attached to a post 10 at a preselected elevation therealong. The disposition of the cross-bracing with respect to the scaffold may vary widely, but in the particular environment selected herein for illustrative purposes, certain of the braces 16 extend horizontally between adjacent posts 10, while other brace bars are inclined or diagonally disposed. It will be understood, however, that wide variations in the angularity of the braces with respect to-the posts to which they are attached are possible and, irrespective of brace-to-post angularity, the essential featues of the invention at all times remain the same.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the clamp assembly of the present invention is comprised of three principal parts, namely, a stud 20, a reaction bracket 22 beneath the stud, and a wedge piece 24. The stud 20 and the bracket 22 are fixedly secured to the associated post 10, while the wedge piece 24 is captured by, but movable on, the bracket 22.

The scaffold cross-bracing which is fragmentarily illustrated in the drawings embodies only diagonal braces 16 which lie in vertical planes and extend longitudinally of the installation between adjacent longitudinally spaced posts so as to lend longitudinal stability to the scaffold installation as a whole. Adjacent transversely spaced posts are shown as being rigidly connected together by upper and lower, relatively massive, horizontal tie bars 26 and 28 which are welded at their ends to the adjacent posts between which they extend. It will be understood that in a scaffold installation where the tie bars 26 and 28 are not employed, the necessary transverse stability of the installation may be attained by the use of transversely extending diagonal braces similar to the braces 16 and similarly fastened to the posts 10.

The stud 20 of the improved clamp assembly is of the shouldered type and includes an inner stud head 30 and anouter reduced shank 32, the head 30 being welded to the associated post 10 so that the shank projects radially outwards from'the latter.

The reaction bracket 22 is in the form of a trapezoidal plate 34 having its long side edge 36 welded to the adjacent inner portion of the associated post 10 so that the plate lies in a vertical plane and projects radially outwardly from the post. The upper edge 38 of the plate 34 extends horizontally while the lower edge 40 extends on an incline, the inclination being downwards and inwards. The short side edge 42 of the plate 34 extends vertically and is parallel to the long side edge 36. At a region near the distal portion of the plate 34, a roll pin 44 projects completely through the plate and over hangs the opposite sides thereof. A similar roll pin 46 passes through the plate 34 near the lower inner corner thereof as shown in FIG. 2, and this also overhangs the sides of the plate. This latter roll pin may be of slightly smaller diameter than the roll pin 42 and it assumes a position close to the associated post 10.

The wedge clamp or piece 24 is in the form of a metal stamping as heretofore indicated and consists of a narrow strip or flat'bar stock which, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, embodies an elongated upper vertical section 48 having a longitudinally extending slot 49 therein, the slot being designed for cooperation with the reduced shank 32 of the stud 20. The wedge piece 24 further embodies an elongated, lower inclined section 50 having formed therein a longitudinally extending slot 51 through which the trapezoidal plate 34 of the reaction bracket 22 projects. This lower inclined section 50 of the wedge piece 24 projects between and is designed for cooperation with the two aforementioned roll pins 44 and 46 in a manner that will be made clear presently. The upper end of the wedge piece 24 is provided with an outturned impact flange 52 which extends horizontally. The lower end of the wedge piece 24 is provided with an outwardly and downwardly extending impact flange 54. The upper vertical section 48 of the wedge piece 24 is connected to the lower inclined section 50 by a short inclined dogleg 56.

According to the presentinvention, it is contemplated that in the commercial distribution of the clamp assembly 14, the three components 20, 22 and 24 will be applied to the post 10 at the factory, althouth under certain circumstances, this may be done in the field if welding facilities are available. In applying the components, a predetermined separation distance between the stud 20 and the reaction bracket 22 will be maintained at the time they are welded in position ori the post 10, this distance being such that proper cooperation of the post and bracket with the wedge piece at the time of installation in the associated scaffolding will be attained. The particular order of assembly of the three components on the post is not critical, one convenient assembly method being to weld the stud 20 and the plate 34 of the reaction bracket 22 to thepost, after which the roll pin 46 may be applied to said plate. The wedge piece 24 may then be applied to the reaction bracket 24 by causing the plate 34 to project through the slot 51, after which the roll pin 44 will be set in place in order to capture the wedge piece permanently in position on the reaction bracket 24.

Depending upon the nature of the scaffolding, any given stud 20 is capable of receiving thereover the flattened ends 17 of up to four individual braces 16. An instance where the stud is required to accommodate four such braces is shown in the lower right-hand corner of FIG. 1 and also in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, the wedge piece 24 is capable of assuming a raised position wherein it leans outwardly against the roll pin 44 so that the slot 49 moves clear of the stud 20 in order to allow the adjacent flattened ends of the various braces to be applied over the reduced shank 32 of the stud 20 so that such shank projects through the holes 18 in the flattened ends 17 of the braces 16. The particular order of application of the braces to the stud 20 is of no consequence and when the four braces have been received on the stud as shown in FIG. 2, the wedge piece 24 is pushed forwardly, i.e., toward the post 10, whereupon it falls by gravity into a more nearly vertical position, This operation may be accomplished manually and, when completed, the outturned impact flange 52 at the upper end of the vertically elongated wedge piece 24 will be struck with a suitable impact tool, such, for example, as a hammer, in order to drive the wedge piece bodily and endwise downwardly a short distance whereby the lower inclined section 50 will bind between the two roll pins 44 and 46 of the reaction bracket 22. The wedge piece 24 possesses a degree of resiliency so that as the lower inclined section 50 thereof binds between the two roll pins 44 and 46 as set forth above, the wedge piece will flex slightly while inward pressure will be applied to the four overlapping flattened ends 17 of the braces 16 on the stud 20 tending to compress them against one another so as firmly to anchor them in position on the post 10. When it is desired to dismantle the scaffolding, the laterally extending impact flange 54 at the lower end of the wedge piece 24 will be struck an upward blow in order to loosen the wedge piece and permit restoration thereof to its initial dotted-line poised position as shown in FIG. 2, thereby releasing the contiguous and abutting four flattened ends of the braces for removal, one by one, from the stud 20.

An instance where the stud 20 is required to accommodate two braces 16 is shown in FIG. 4 and at the upper left-hand corner of FIG. 1. The application of the two braces 16 to the post 10 is effected in a manner similar to that described in connection with the application of four braces, the manual operations involved being substantially the same and the only difference in the completed installation being that the wedge piece 24 moves further downwardly along the post and the lower inclined section 50 thereof binds between the two roll pins 44 and 46 at a region closer to the centrally-disposed dogleg 56.

Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to utilize the clamp assembly for holding a single brace 16 in position on a post 10. Such an installation is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. With such an arrangement, when the wedge piece 24 is driven downwardly, the roll pin 44 assumes a position quite close to the dogleg 56 while the lower end of the wedge piece closely approaches or even touches the post 10. If a particularly heavy blow is imparted to the outturned impact flange 52, the lower end of the wedge piece 24 may actually ride downwardly on the outer surface of the post 10, in which case the lower inclined section 50 will bind against the roll pin 44 and the post 10 and move free of the roll pin 46.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, the wedge piece 24 may be fashioned as a completely free member so that it is readily removable from the reaction bracket 24, in which case the stud 20 and reaction bracket 22 would be welded in position on the post 10 as previously described, while the wedge member 24 would be transported to the'site of use for individual application to the post 10. Thus, to render the wedge piece free of the reaction bracket 22 of the clamp assembly 14, and consequently, the post 10, the slot 51 may be in the form of an openended slot so that the side edges thereof are in the form of fork tines. By such an arrangement, the efficacy of the wedge piece is not destroyed, nor is its mode of operation changed in any way. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described what we claim as new and desire to secure by letters patent is:

1. In a scaffolding system, in combination, a vertical post, a stud fixedly secured to said post and projecting radially outwardly therefrom, said stud being adapted to receive thereover the apertured ends of one or more elongated braces by means of which the post and an adjacent post are connected together in reinforcing relationship, a reaction bracket fixedly secured to said post immediately below said stud and likewise projecting radially outwardly of the post in vertical alignment and underlying relationship with respect to the stud, a transverse pin projecting through the distal end of said bracket and defining an inwardly facing reaction shoulder, and an elongated wedge piece having an upper section provided with a slot designed for reception over said stud, and an lower inclined section having a closed slot therein through which the bracket loosely projects, said lower section being designed for introduction between said transverse pin and the post whereby, upon downward movement of the wedge piece, the latter will bind against said pin and the post and force said upper section of the wedge piece towards said post and thereby compress the ends of such braces as are received over said stud the length of said closed slot and the inclinaton of said inclined lower section being proportioned to prevent bottoming of said bracket in the slot prior to engagement of said inclined lower section with the post thus assuring a compression of such braces as are received over said stud, the extent of said pin being greater than the width of the slot in the lower section of the wedge piece, whereby the latter is captured on the bracket against removal therefrom.

2. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said bracket is in the form of a flat plate which lies in a vertical plane passing through said stud, the width of said plate being slightly less than the width of the slot in the lower section of the wedge piece, whereby the wedge piece is maintained against turning movement about a transverse axis of the latter.

3. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 2 and wherein a second transverse pin projects through the bracket at a region spaced inwardly from the first transverse pin, said transverse pins being designed for binding engagement with the wedge piece when the latter is driven downwardly therebetween.

4. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 3 and wherein the upper section of the wedge piece extends vertically when the wedge piece is in binding relationship with said transverse pins, and the lower section of the wedge piece is inclined inwardly and downwardly with respect to the post.

5. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the upper and lower sections of the wedge piece are connected by an intermediate dogleg section.

6. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the upper end of the wedge piece is formed with a laterally extending impact flange by means of which the wedge piece may be driven downwardly to its position of binding relationship.

7. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 6 and wherein the lower end of the wedge piece is formed with a second laterally extending impact flange by means of which the wedge piece may be driven upwardly to displace it from its binding relationship. 

1. In a scaffolding system, in combination, a vertical post, a stud fixedly secured to said post and projecting radially outwardly therefrom, said stud being adapted to receive thereover the apertured ends of one or more elongated braces by means of which the post and an adjacent post are connected together in reinforcing relationship, a reaction bracket fixedly secured to said post immediately below said stud and likewise projecting radially outwardly of the post in vertical alignment and underlying relationship with respect to the stud, a transverse pin projecting through the distal end of said bracket and defining an inwardly facing reaction shoulder, and an elongated wedge piece having an upper section provided with a slot designed for reception over said stud, and an lower inclined section having a closed slot therein through which the bracket loosely projects, said lower section being designed for introduction between said transverse pin and the post whereby, upon downward movement of the wedge piece, the latter will bind against said pin and the post and force said upper section of the wedge piece towards said post and thereby compress the ends of such braces as are received over said stud the length of said closed slot and the inclinaton of said inclined lower section being proportioned to prevent bottoming of said bracket in the slot prior to engagement of said inclined lower section with the post thus assuring a compression of such braces as are received over said stud, the extent of said pin being greater than the width of the slot in the lower section of the wedge piece, whereby the latter is captured on the bracket against removal therefrom.
 2. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein said bracket is in the form of a flat plate which lies in a vertical plane passing through said stud, the width of said plate being slightly less than the width of the slot in the lower section of the wedge piece, whereby the wedge piece is maintained against turning movement about a transverse axis of the latter.
 3. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 2 and wherein a second transverse pin projects through the bracket at a region spaced inwardly from the first transverse pin, said transverse pins being designed for binding engagement with the wedge piece when the latter is driven downwardly therebetween.
 4. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 3 and wherein the upper section of the wedge piece extends vertically when the wedge piece is in binding relationship with said transverse pins, and the lower section of the wedge piece is inclined inwardly and downwardly with respect to the post.
 5. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the upper and lower sections of the wedge piece are connected by an intermediate dogleg section.
 6. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the upper end of the wedge piece is formed with a laterally extending impact flange by means of which the wedge piece may be driven downwardly to its position of binding relationship.
 7. In a scaffolding system, the combination set forth in claim 6 and wherein the lower end of the wedge piece is formed with a second laterally extending impact flange by means of which the wedge piece may be driven upwardly to displace it from its binding relationship. 